Igniting the Creative Economy

January has a particular kind of energy. While it can seem loud and performative with resolutions and a fresh set of stretch goals, the strongest pull is in the quiet and creative moments that linger. Those moments when possibility whispers and ideas begin to swirl and something small is ready to grow and be tended. The smallest spark that adds brightness to the dark, cold moment of beginning again.

At the start of this year, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about these moments. The new space as creativity begins waking up and ideas show up early, fragile but electric. Moments that feel full of possibility but also strangely vulnerable. And what I’m realizing is that they need more from us. Because while we celebrate creativity constantly, we’re far less practiced at protecting it. And without protection, sparks burn out.

Creativity Isn’t a Nice-to-Have. It’s Infrastructure.

We often talk about creativity as something personal, emotional, or artistic, something that exists for inspiration and daydreaming. But what I’ve seen across my career is creativity showing up as something else entirely: economic infrastructure.

Creative work is a driving force behind almost every industry. It’s the fuel that helps us innovate; problem-solve and look at a challenge from multiple angles. It shapes the experiences of places, brands, movements, and even people. It crafts stories that connect people, spread ideas, and build community. It springboards new products, services, and businesses into being.

Creative work drives tourism, economic vitality, workforce attraction, business growth, and cultural identity. When creativity is nurtured, everything feels alive. When it’s ignored or under-resourced, everything flattens, and even the best ideas will miss the mark. The real challenge isn’t a lack of creative ideas; it’s a lack of systems that allow those ideas to grow.

From Spark to Structure

This month, I’m kicking off work with the Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene - supporting two deeply connected efforts: the exploration of an arts district and a broader arts-and-economy storytelling initiative.

Both began the same way most meaningful work does: with a spark. A shared sense that something is possible here. That creativity, business, and community don’t have to operate in silos. That the arts aren’t just something we consume but something that shapes our collective future.

To say I’m thrilled to be involved in this work is an understatement. And while what we’d like to make possible is inspiring and energizing, it’s the work behind-the-scenes to build a supportive infrastructure that centers, resources, and supports creativity that really has my brain buzzing.

What happens next is the part people don’t always see.

• The alignment work.

• The listening.

• The deeper questions about governance, ownership, resourcing, and sustainability.

• The slow translation between artists, institutions, businesses, and civic systems.

This is where sparks either fade or catch.

Why So Many Good Ideas Stall

I’ve watched brilliant initiatives stall not because they weren’t compelling, but because they weren’t supported. It’s easy to jump straight into the action items, roadmaps, and assigning to-dos, getting tactical before we’ve built a thoughtful and strategic infrastructure to support, nurture, and launch ideas.

Common failure points look like:

• Moving straight into action before creating space for strategy

• Not creating shared language, expectations, and alignment between partners

• Unclear decision-making structures

• Storytelling that doesn’t match lived impact

Creativity alone can’t solve these problems but strategy can hold creativity long enough for it to take root.

That’s the work I care most about now, not chasing the next idea, but building the conditions where ideas can survive. The quiet work of nurturing systems of support that anchor and expand the ideas that impact our collective future.

Stewardship Is the Work

As we step into this new year, I’m less interested in urgency and more interested in stewardship. I’m thinking more deeply about how to nurture the ideas, sparks and collaborative energy showing up in my work and my life. Considering what happens when they are allowed to simmer, combine, and evolve. When they are given space to become more.

I’m exploring what it looks like to:

• Protect creative energy instead of extracting from it

• Design systems that support collaboration instead of competition

• Tell stories that invite people in rather hope to extract something from them

When we treat creativity as infrastructure, we stop asking it to perform on demand and start asking what it needs to last. That is when the true sense of possibility unfurls and when the ideas that can last finally have space to grow.

Looking Ahead

January is about ignition. The rest of the year is about tending the flame.

At Volt, that means working alongside people and organizations who are ready to move from inspiration to intention and who know something matters and want to build it thoughtfully, sustainably, and in community.

If you’re holding an initiative that feels full of potential but under-supported, you’re not alone. And you don’t have to figure out the next step by yourself.

Sometimes all a spark needs is the right structure to become something enduring.

The Spark: What Really Starts Great Strategy

Every great strategy begins the same way: with a spark.

Not a quarterly plan.
Not a KPI dashboard.
Not another “industry best practice” recycled for the millionth time.

A spark that snaps you awake.
A spark that whispers: “We can do better than this.”

Over the last year, I’ve found myself in rooms: nonprofit, private sector, government, startup, community tables. In most of them I felt an entire storm of things to say. Things like:

Marketing is not just lead generation.
Strategy is not a template.
And every sector being financially squeezed right now is not a coincidence - it’s a sign of deeper system shifts that demand new thinking, not tighter silos.

I’ve sat in conversations where people talk about revenue, sponsorships, partnerships, “engagement,” or donor and customer pipelines as if money is the only reason anyone should move. And I’ve watched organizations twist themselves into knots chasing stability in a world that refuses to stop changing.

But here’s the truth I keep returning to:

If you’re only moving for the money, you’ll miss the work that actually builds it.
Money follows meaning.
Momentum follows alignment.
Magnetic brands, and healthy communities, are built on intention, not desperation.

And if we’re really honest, when everything feels like disruption that is the most potent moment for innovation.

Which brings me back to the spark.

The spark is the moment you stop running on autopilot and start telling the truth. It’s the moment you give space to get candid and clear about what’s working, what’s not, and what you actually want to build. It’s when you realize that doing things like you have been isn’t going to carry you through to what’s next. It’s where positive disruption begins.

Disruption doesn’t have to be chaos.
It can be honest.
It can be human.
It can be brave.

We need that spark right now, both collectively and individually. We need that spark across every single sector. We need organizations willing to rethink the way they communicate, collaborate, and show up. We need leaders who aren’t afraid to be a little rebellious in the name of clarity. We need teams with the space to slow down long enough to hear themselves again.

Because you can’t build a magnet without a spark.
You can’t create alignment without intention.
And you can’t navigate a shifting world with strategies built for a different one.

Launching The Current felt like my own spark moment, a place to say the things that need saying, to explore the work underneath the work, and to invite leaders into deeper clarity and bolder creativity.

So this is where we begin.

Listen.
Be honest.
And get ready to build something real.